Enjoy a Fresh Farmers Market Garden Lunch

By Katie-Rose Watson

Looking for inspiration for your farmers market haul or a lovely garden lunch? You found it. I picked up so many goodies at the Downtown Rockwall Farmers Market on Saturday that inspired this gorgeous lunch in the garden.

I set the table with a very old white lace tablecloth, which I thought looked very French. I added a white outdoor lantern, pastel snapdragons from Paper Bird Flower Farm that I picked up at the farmers market, and some mint from my garden.

I kept the place settings very simple with my white bubble melamine plates and gold napkins tied with twine. I chose the napkins because they look like squash blossoms and I was going for a casual summer lunch look.

This is such an easy portable menu that can be used for a picnic.

Carpaccio di Zucchine e Limone e Mente

This is a Rose Table classic. I make it so often in fact that it’s even in The Rose Table Cookbook. It’s as healthy as it is delicious and so easy to make. I was inspired to try this when I read the description in a book set in Italy a few years ago and just had to try it. I serve it all summer long when zucchini is cheap and mint is overflowing in the garden.

This is such a no-stress dish. Peel zucchini into ribbons right on a serving platter. Squeeze with lemon juice, drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil, season with salt and pepper, chopped garden mint, and then zest some lemon right on top. That’s it. So easy.

Note: I wrote this up for a single zucchini, which was the perfect amount for two people. This recipe scales up easily to serve a crowd.

Summer Sausage, Goat Cheese & Crackers

If Ina Garten has taught me anything, it’s that: one, you don’t have to make everything; and two, killer ingredients are key. I served jalapeño summer sausage from Tate Farms with the best goat cheese I’ve ever had — garlic goat cheese from Lost Ruby Ranch. If you see these guys at a farmers’ market, get the goat cheese. Just trust me.

Artichoke & Olive Pasta Salad

I got the idea for this pasta salad after buying the most gorgeous artichokes and Kalamata olives from Amanida USA at the farmers market. This pasta salad is simple and easy to customize.

Ingredients

1 pound pasta

1 cup marinated artichoke hearts, quartered

1/2 cup Kalamata olives, chopped

1/4 cup feta cheese

2 Tbsp fresh basil

Italian dressing (recipe follows)

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions and let cool. Toss with quartered artichoke hearts, chopped Kalamata olives, feta cheese, fresh basil, and Italian dressing. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Italian Dressing

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/8 cup white wine vinegar

2 shakes dried basil

2 shakes dried oregano

1 tbsp water

Pinch sugar

Salt, pepper

Whisk together all ingredients, seasoning to taste.

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

They’re the perfect picnic dessert because they’re so easy to pack. Mine have dark chocolate and sea salt but it’s the method that makes them exceptional: you pull them out when the dough is still wet in the center and let the residual heat from the cookie sheet finish them off. The result is the softest, most luscious chocolate chip cookie you’ll ever have.

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 tsp Mexican vanilla extract

2 large eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp sea salt

2 cups dark chocolate chips

More sea salt for sprinkling on top

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt in a small bowl. Cream together butter and sugars in a stand mixer until combined.

Scrape down the sides of the mixer. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

Slowly mix in dry ingredients until combined. Stir in dark chocolate chips.

Roll cookie dough into large balls (exactly 24!) and place twelve on two cookie sheets. Sprinkle each cookie with sea salt.

Bake for about 8-10 minutes and pull them out when they are browning on the edges but still slightly wet in the middle. Let cool completely on the cookie sheets, about 15 minutes.

It was such a nice afternoon and we enjoyed the garden for hours. I hope you enjoy this menu as much as we did.